These delicious desserts are the perfect way to impress your guests with minimal work entailed. A crisp meringue with a soft and gooey interior, topped off with a tangy passion fruit cream ticks all of the right boxes.

Pavlova with wine – Michel Roux Jr

Ingredients

To prepare the meringue:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornflour

To prepare the filling:

  • 200ml whipping cream
  • 6 passion fruits
  • 3 tbsps icing sugar
  • 1 scraped vanilla pod
  • 1 tbsp Malibu

Method

Preheat your oven to 120 degrees C

When making a meringue make sure your egg whites are at room temperature and that your mixing bowl is nice and clean.

  1. Whisk the whites on a medium speed until doubled in volume and foamy.
  2. Then progressively add in the sugar and cornflour to obtain a stiff and glossy meringue.
  3. Directly place in a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle. Delicately pipe nests of 6 cm wide and 6 cm high on a baking tray previously lined with greaseproof paper.
  4. Use a wet spoon to create a dip in the middle of the meringue; where the cream will be able to sit in.
  5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.
  6. Whisk the cream until soft peaks appear and the cream resembles a Chantilly.
  7. Then sift in the icing sugar, scraped vanilla and alcohol and whisk a little more.
  8. Finally, scoop out the seeds and juices of the passion fruits and gently fold into the cream.
  9. Fill the meringue nests with the cream and devour.

Roux’s wines to match with passion fruit pavlova

Brown Brothers, Special Late Harvested Orange Muscat and Flora, Victoria, Australia, 2013

Boasting floral and citrus notes with a crisp texture and powerful finish, the flavours of this particular wine act as a superb extension to the exotic melodies of the pavlova. Light, playful and satisfying.

Buy it: £5.24 Waitrose Cellar

Changyu, Golden Diamond, Vidal, Icewine, Liaoning, China 2009

A nimble ice wine with a honey-blossom tang, which is sure to go well with a large variety of desserts. Subtle and pleasant on the palette, not overwhelming and providing a refreshing, tropical finish.

Buy it: £25.99 All About Wine

Rolly Gassmann, Riesling Kappelweg Vendanges Tardives, Alsace, France 2005

This suave medium-dry white is sure to satisfy, with a variety of noticeable flavours including orange peel and honey, as well as the addition of a parched exotic tang that will no doubt compliment this dessert. A special wine for a special event.

Buy it: £30.00 Waitrose Cellar

More about the wines

I suggest something a little different with this light and exotic dessert. The Brown Brothers special late harvested orange Muscat 2013 is full of fragrant floral aromas. This delicate and accomplished dessert wine has a subtle hint of orange; the perfect supplement to the moreish meringues.

I really enjoy Icewine with desserts and this wild card will definitely get your taste buds going. The Changyu Golden Diamond 2009 from China has balanced biscuit flavours and fresh citrus notes. Served cold this sweet wine delivers all its complexity.

Finally, for a special occasion why not try the superb Rolly Gassmann Riesling with notes of honey, candid peel and dried mango. Although a little pricey, this delicious white wine delivers all the right fragrances.

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Michel Roux Jr
Michel Roux Jr
Columnist
Michel Roux Jr was born in 1960 in Pembury, Kent, where his father Albert Roux worked as a private chef for the Cazalet family. His earliest food memories are the smells of the Fairlawne kitchen – pastry, sugar caramelizing and stews – where he played under the table while his father and mother Monique prepared the meals. After deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps, he left school at 16 for the first of several challenging apprenticeships at Maître Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris from 1976 to 1979. He was then Commis de Cuisine at Alain Chapel’s signature restaurant at Mionay near Lyon, Michel’s biggest influence. His military service was spent in the kitchens at the Elysée Palace at the time of Presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterrand. He also spent time at Boucherie Lamartine and Charcuterie Mothu in Paris, and the Gavers Restaurant in London. After a stint at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong he returned to London and worked at La Tante Claire before joining the family business. He took over running Le Gavroche in 1991, gradually changing the style of cooking to his own – classic French with a lighter, modern twist. Michel opened Roux at Parliament Square in May 2010 with Restaurant Associates, part of the Compass Group UK and Ireland. And in November 2010, he opened Roux at The Landau at London’s prestigious luxury hotel, The Langham. Michel was a judge and presenter on the BBC’s popular prime time show, MasterChef: The Professionals, and presented all series of ‘Great British Food Revival.’  Michel fronted BBC2’s ‘Food and Drink,’ in 2014 and presented a documentary on Escoffier, whose revolutionary approach to fine cuisine has inspired Michel and many others. In the same year, Michel went on a journey to create the perfect chocolate for the Le Gavroche Kitchen.  Filmed by the BBC, in Paris he discovered chocolatiers, Cacao Barry and their Or Noir Lab. In 2013, Michel launched his most recent cookbook, ‘The French Kitchen’.  Focusing on traditional French home cooking, this is the fifth solo cookery book from Michel. He is involved with the Roux Experience courses at the ‘Cactus Kitchens’ cookery school, with the Executive producer of Saturday Kitchen, Amanda Ross. Cactus Kitchens offers people the opportunity to learn to cook within small intimate groups from some of the UK’s finest chefs, on site above the Saturday Kitchen studios. Michel has fronted a brand new four-part Channel 4 series, ‘The Diner’, exploring the hurdles faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues when finding employment. Michel also recently presented a new program on his first ever project with the Disney Channel.  ‘First Class Chefs’ which launched in June 2015, is a show where kids aged 9-11 compete to showcase their restaurant skills.